We would like to wish our readers a Merry Christmas or a Happy Hannukah, and a great New Years. The FlashReport is currently in our "holiday break" mode, where we offer much more limited coverage. This takes place annually from the Friday before Christmas through New Years. Traditionally the political news coverage is very slow, and it gives the elves here a chance to recharge their batteries before we return full steam ahead on Monday, January 3rd. The FlashReport Weblog on California Politics will be up and running during our seasonal break, and so we encourage you to keep an eye on it. Some of our bloggers will still be posting, and if there is breaking news or a particularly "yummy" political story or column, that’s where we’ll point it out to you! Thank you so much for making 2010 the most successful year yet, by any measurable standard, for the FlashReport. We had more blog posts and more featured columns than any other year. We’ve had more readers (by far) than we’ve had since we began as an e-mail… Read More

As time permits (which it did today) a few highlights…

THE GOLDEN PEN: KATY GRIMES San Francisco’s Fiona Ma wants to ban parties in public buildings, and regulate how you can have them on your property… Cal Watchdog’s Katy Grimes pens today’s Golden Pen on the subject… CalWatchDog

More links…

This just in from FR Friend Laer Pearce…

Thank God for California’s Public Employee Unions By Laer Pearce I’m looking sadly at the family refrigerator, imagining it as barren white slab, stripped of all the children’s artwork that makes it such an emotional focus of our home. And I’m thanking God for California’s public employees, because they made it possible for the Pearce clan, and all California clans, to enjoy the best of Crayola art while we put away the milk and cold cuts. And it’s not just that. Without the fine folks whose paychecks are signed by John Chiang, we would be… Read More

It is no accident that with a pool of literally millions of Californians from which to choose, the composition of the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board is made up entirely of former, termed-out legislators. The current members of the CUIAB include former GOP Assembly Leader George Plescia, former GOP Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, former Democrat Senator Liz Figueroa, and former Democrat Assemblywoman Cindy Montañez. Until yesterday, the Board’s fifth member was former Republican Assemblywoman Sharon Runner. She resigned and has announced a run for the State Senate seat just vacated by her husband, George, who will be sworn in as a new member of the State Board of Equalization in early January. Runner’s term on the CUIAB was set to expire at year’s end.

The appointments, three made by the Governor, and one each by the Senate President and Assembly Speaker, do NOT require confirmation… Read More

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Redistricting can produce some strange outcomes.

For example, after a court drawn redistricting map took effect in 1992 three sitting members of the Assembly ended up running against each other in Orange County.

In a closed Republican primary in June 1992 sitting Republican Assemblymembers Tom Mays (Huntington Beach), Doris Allen (Cypress) and Nolan Frizzelle (Fountain Valley) all ran against each other for the 67th Assembly District.

After public employee unions spent more than $70,000 in the race, the people of California were stuck with Doris Allen as the winner. That alone could be the subject of a book.

So 20 years latter, why is this story relevant today? Because it is likely to happen again.

Section 2d6e of Article XXI of… Read More

The California Fair Political Practices Commission is proposing a number of new regulations on political campaign speech that it will consider at a public hearing in Sacramento at their headquarters on January 28, 2011. Written comments must be received no later than 5;00 pm on January 26, 2011.

Among the new areas of proposed regulation:

-addition of the words "Paid for by" on mass mailing candidate/committee identification statements;

-additional administrative requirements on slate mail organizations imposing new record-keeping requirements, new rules governing imposition of the so-called "asterisk" rule, new rules regarding imposition of the so-called "Notice to Voters" box rule, rules regarding notices when the slate is written in another language, Spanish or Korean (for example), new regulation of slate mail emails.

-changes to candidate committee termination rules that allow for extensions of time to raise funds to terminate the committees, a reasonable change in the rules.

-changes to timing of filing of "late filing" reports to account for… Read More

From today’s Wall Street Journal Political Diary E-mail… Steve Poizner’s Political Ambitions Steve Poizner, California’s outgoing insurance commissioner, lost the Republican gubernatorial primary against Meg Whitman earlier this year, but he has no intention of exiting the political scene. In a recent interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Mr. Poizner sounded like a man bent on another run for office. "Voters clearly aren’t looking for rookies," he said. "They’re looking for someone like me." … Read More

Dems get crushed by census & demographics –

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/21/AR2010122103084.html… Read More